LISP on a reduced-instruction-set processor: characterization and optimization

Thesis/Dissertation · Thu Jan 01 04:00:00 EST 1987

OSTI ID:6984837

Steenkiste, P A

As a result of advances in compiler technology, almost all programs are written in high-level languages, and the effectiveness of a computer architecture is determined by its suitability as a compiler target. This central role of compilers in the use of computers has led computer architects to study the implementation of high-level language programs. This thesis presents measurements for a set of Portable Standard LISP programs that were executed on a reduced-instruction-set processor (MIPS-X), examining what instructions LISP uses at the assembly level, and how much time is spent on the most-common primitive LISP operations. This information makes it possible to determine which operations are time-critical and to evaluate how well architectural features address these operations. Based on these data, three areas for optimization are proposed: the implementation of the tags used for run-time type checking, reducing the cost of procedure calls, and interprocedural register allocation. A number of methods to implement tags, both with and without hardware support, are presented,and the performance of the different implementation strategies is compared.

• Research Organization: Stanford Univ., CA (USA)
• OSTI ID: 6984837
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

99 GENERAL AND MISCELLANEOUS
990210* -- Supercomputers-- (1987-1989)
990300 -- Information Handling
COMPUTER ARCHITECTURE
COMPUTER CODES
COST
DATA
DATA COMPILATION
INFORMATION
OPTIMIZATION
PROGRAMMING LANGUAGES